Psychophysiology of Aggression, Psychopathy, and Conduct Problems: A Meta-Analysis.

A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems. Analyses revealed a complex constellation of interactive effects, with a failure in some cases of autonomic patterns to generalize across antisocial spectrum behavior constructs. Low resting EDA and low task EDA were associated with psychopathy/sociopathy and conduct problems. However, EDA reactivity was positively associated with aggression and negatively associated with psychopathy/sociopathy. Low resting HR and high HR reactivity were associated with aggression and conduct problems. Physiology-behavior relations varied with age and stimulus valence in several cases. Empirical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cardiac autonomic reactivity and recovery in predicting carotid atherosclerosis: The cardiovascular risk in young finns study.

The present study examined the association of cardiac autonomic task-induced reactivity and recovery to preclinical atherosclerosis. Thirty-three men and 33 women aged 24-39 years participated in the ongoing epidemiological Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study. The authors measured heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and preejection period (PEP) during the mental arithmetic and speech tasks in 1999. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring the thickness of the common carotid artery intima-media complex (IMT) with ultrasound in 2001. Higher HR, RSA, and PEP reactivity were associated with lower IMT values even after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors (lipid levels, obesity, and blood pressure). In addition, better HR recovery after the mental arithmetic task was associated with lower IMT values, and this association persisted after all adjustments. Thus, higher task-induced cardiac autonomic reactivity and better HR recovery were related to less preclinical atherosclerosis. The authors concluded that cardiac pattern of reactivity and quick recovery may be associated with better cardiovascular health, and therefore all reactivity occurring in challenging situations should not automatically be considered as potentially pathological. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarifying the role of defensive reactivity deficits in psychopathy and antisocial personality using startle reflex methodology.

Prior research has demonstrated deficits in defensive reactivity (indexed by potentiation of the startle blink reflex) in psychopathic individuals. However, the basis of this association remains unclear, as diagnostic criteria for psychopathy encompass two distinct phenotypic components that may reflect differing neurobiological mechanisms—an affective–interpersonal component and an antisocial deviance component. Likewise, the role of defensive response deficits in antisocial personality disorder (APD), a related but distinct syndrome, remains to be clarified. In the current study, the authors examined affective priming deficits in relation to factors of psychopathy and symptoms of APD using startle reflex methods in 108 adult male prisoners. Deficits in blink reflex potentiation during aversive picture viewing were found in relation to the affective–interpersonal (Factor 1) component of psychopathy, and to a lesser extent in relation to the antisocial deviance (Factor 2) component of psychopathy and symptoms of APD—but only as a function of their overlap with affective–interpersonal features of psychopathy. These findings provide clear evidence that deficits in defensive reactivity are linked specifically to the affective–interpersonal features of psychopathy and not to the antisocial deviance features represented most strongly in APD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences and self-report of fear: A psychophysiological assessment.

Hypothesized that, because of differential social learning, females would report fear of spiders more frequently than males would but that males selected for equal self-report of fear would show greater autonomic responsivity than females to slides of spiders. Four groups of 10 undergraduates each (male and female fearful and nonfearful) were assembled. They were told to wait quietly for 10 min, after which they would see slides of tarantulas. Skin conductance level was measured during the anticipatory period and in response to each of the slides. Results confirm the hypothesis that more women would report fear than men but failed to confirm the hypothesis that there would be differential autonomic responding. Fearful Ss, irrespective of sex, showed prolonged autonomic arousal during the entire anticipatory period, whereas nonfearful Ss showed increasing autonomic arousal as the time for the 1st slide presentation approached. This finding is discussed in terms of coping theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress exposure and affective modulation of aggressive behavior in men and women.

To study differences in the effects of stress exposure and affective responding on aggression in men and women, the authors examined the effects of an acute stressor (air blast) on subsequent aggressive behavior, measured as the intensity of shocks men and women delivered to a putative employee. The authors measured participants' affective responding using the startle reflex. Results showed that although men and women did not differ in their startle responses to the actual stressor, high stress led to contrasting patterns of subsequent aggressive behavior. Women under high stress responded with less aggression than women under low stress, whereas men exposed to high stress exhibited increases in aggression relative to those under low stress. Affective responding during the stressor differentially modulated aggression in men and women: Startle responses predicted increasing levels of aggression in men and less aggression in women. These findings suggest that although men and women show similar basic affective processing in response to stressors, the behavioral profiles associated with stress differ in men and women. These findings have implications for understanding gender differences in the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct in situ reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for detection of measles virus

Behavioral contexts can evoke a variety of autonomic modes of response, characterized by reciprocal, coactive, or independent changes in the autonomic divisions. The present study investigated the modes of autonomic response to visual illusion and mental arithmetic tasks, by the use of noninvasive measures of sympathetic (pre-ejection period; PEP) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) cardiac control. As previously demonstrated, mental arithmetic was associated with a reciprocal pattern of sympathetic activation and vagal withdrawal. The illusion task, however, yielded a distinct mode of vagal activation in the absence of sympathetic change. Responses within tasks were reliable. In contrast to the general intertask consistency reported for stress tasks that yield similar autonomic modes of response, however, neither PEP nor RSA responses were correlated across the illusion and arithmetic tasks. This may be attributable to the dissimilar modes of autonomic control evoked by these tasks. The distinct modes of autonomic response to arithmetic and illusions emphasize the importance of a bivariate model of autonomic control, and may offer important experimental tools for psychophysiological studies of autonomic control.     

Antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, and substance abuse in schizophrenia.

The validity of subtypes based on antisocial personality disorder (APD) or childhood conduct disorder without adult APD (CD only) in patients with schizophrenia (or schizoaffective disorder) and a substance use disorder (abuse or dependence) was examined. APD patients scored lower on personality measures related to socialization and higher on antisocial bebavior, psychopathy, and aggression. APD patients also reported higher rates of aggression and legal problems. APD, and to a lesser extent CD only, was associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms, an earlier age of onset of substance abuse, more severe symptoms of substance abuse, and a stronger family history of substance abuse and psychiatric hospitalization. The findings suggest that schizophrenia patients with APD represent a high-risk subgroup vulnerable to more severe substance abuse, psychiatric impairment, aggression, and legal problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disinhibitory psychopathology in male adolescents: Discriminating conduct disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder through concurrent assessment of multiple autonomic states.

T. P. Beauchaine (2001) recently proposed a model of autonomic nervous system functioning that predicts divergent patterns of psychophysiological responding across disorders of disinhibition. This model was tested by comparing groups of male adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder plus conduct disorder (CD/ADHD) with controls while performing a repetitive motor task in which rewards were administered and removed across trials. Participants then watched a videotaped peer conflict. Electrodermal responding (EDR), cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were monitored. Compared with controls, the ADHD and CD/ADHD participants exhibited reduced EDR. The CD/ADHD group was differentiated from the ADHD and control groups on PEP and from the control group on RSA. Findings are discussed in terms of the motivational and regulational systems indexed. Implications for understanding rates of comorbidity between CD and ADHD are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does aggression cause a preference for viewing media violence?

Two experiments tested the hypotheses that physical aggression and fantasy aggression would lead to a preference for viewing violence. In Exp I, 45 female and 42 male undergraduates were induced to express aggressive, nonaggressive, or no fantasies and were then given an opportunity to select film clips for viewing. The films chosen by men contained more violence than those chosen by women. In addition, aggressive fantasies in males, compared to nonaggressive fantasies, increased the preference for viewing violence. Exp II, with 64 males, replicated the results of Exp I and also found that men who were given an opportunity to aggress physically, compared to those who had no such opportunity, were more likely to choose to view films containing violent content. Results suggest that just as the viewing of violence may increase aggression, so, too, aggressive behavior may increase the preference for viewing violence. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion in the criminal psychopath: Startle reflex modulation.

Measured startle-elicited blinks during presentation of affective slides to test hypotheses concerning emotional responding in psychopaths. Ss were 54 incarcerated sexual offenders divided into nonpsychopathic, psychopathic, and mixed groups based on file and interview data. Consistent with findings for normal college students, nonpsychopaths and mixed Ss showed a significant linear relationship between slide valence and startle magnitude, with startle responses largest during unpleasant slides and smallest during pleasant slides. This effect was absent in psychopaths. Group differences in startle modulation were related to affective features of psychopathy, but not to antisocial behavior per se. Psychopathy had no effect on autonomic or self-report responses to slides. These results suggest an abnormality in the processing of emotional stimuli by psychopaths that manifests itself independently of affective report. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of comorbid psychopathy on criminal offending and emotion processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are two syndromes with substantial construct validity. To clarify relations between these syndromes, the authors evaluated 3 possibilities: (a) that ASPD with psychopathy and ASPD without psychopathy reflect a common underlying pathophysiology; (b) that ASPD with psychopathy and ASPD without psychopathy identify 2 distinct syndromes, similar in some respects; and (c) that most correlates of ASPD reflect its comorbidity with psychopathy. Participants were 472 incarcerated European American men who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (4th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for ASPD and Psychopathy Checklist criteria for psychopathy, who met the criteria for ASPD but not for psychopathy, or who did not meet diagnostic criteria for either ASPD or psychopathy (controls). Both individuals with ASPD only and those with ASPD and psychopathy were characterized by more criminal activity than were controls. In addition, ASPD with psychopathy was associated with more severe criminal behavior and weaker emotion facilitation than ASPD alone. Group differences in the association between emotion dysfunction and criminal behavior suggest tentatively that ASPD with and ASPD without prominent psychopathic features may be distinct syndromes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association between cardiac autonomic function and coping style in healthy subjects

The link between personality and cardiac function is insufficiently characterized. We postulated that in a healthy population, cardiac autonomic function is linked to coping style. In 276 healthy volunteers, between the ages of 18 and 71, the Utrecht Coping List was used to evaluate different coping strategies. Trait anxiety was scored by the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory. A 24-hour Holter recording was used to calculate heart rate variability (HRV). For HRV parameters and coping mechanisms this study demonstrated gender-specific differences and correlations with age. In men (n = 141) higher active coping was associated with less global autonomic activity or SDANN (rs = -0.27, P < 0.001). This relationship was most prevalent in young (18-30 years) men (rs = -0.45, P < 0.005). Higher expression of negative emotions or anger was related to both higher vagal (rs = 0.23 for rMSSD, P < 0.01) tone and higher LF power (rs = 0.23, P < 0.01). In young men expression of negative emotions or anger was associated with LF power (rs = 0.37, P < 0.01) and in middle-aged (31-50 years) men with vagal tone (rs = 0.43 for rMSSD, P < 0.005) and heart rate (rs = -0.41, P < 0.005). Higher comforting ideas was related to higher LF power (rs = 0.23 for LF power, P < 0.005), and this especially in middle-aged men (rs = 0.37, P < 0.01). In women (n = 135), no significant correlations between coping style and HRV indices were found. We conclude that in normal individuals, at least in men, our findings suggest a relationship between coping style and cardiac autonomic function.     

Men and women, alcohol and aggression.

The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior in men and women in a laboratory setting. Participants were 526 (261 men and 265 women) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. They were randomly assigned to either an alcohol or a placebo group. Aggression was measured using a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm in which electric shocks are received from, and delivered to, a same gender fictitious opponent during a supposed competitive interpersonal task. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity and duration of shocks that participants administered to their “opponent.” Overall, men were more aggressive than women. Alcohol increased aggression for both men and women but this effect was stronger for men. This is one of the first laboratory studies to demonstrate that alcohol increases aggression in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the negative affective priming of aggressive behavior.

The negative affective priming of aggression was examined across different aversive contexts (general stress exposure and frustration) with a laboratory aggression paradigm that measured the intensity of shocks participants delivered to a putative employee. Participants' emotional responses were gauged via startle eyeblink reactions and self-report mood ratings. Aside from gender differences in overall aggression, men but not women exposed to general stress showed significant increases in aggression across blocks. However, frustration produced increases in aggression in both genders. Although both genders showed robust startle increases during stress, startle activation was related to increases in aggression in men and decreases in aggression in women. These findings suggest that general stress and experiences of negative emotion trigger physical aggressive responses more strongly in men than in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping and distress in organizations: The role of gender in work stress.

This article investigates the positive value of women's interpersonal way of coping by examining coping benefits on distress depending on gender socialization in the Spanish cultural context. The participants were 332 men and 129 women employed by financial companies. Preliminary results showed that women used social support coping more frequently than men, whereas there were no gender differences in the use of direct action coping. Interactive effects of gender in the relationship between coping strategies and distress and psychosomatic complaints were found; social support coping was only beneficial for women, whereas direct action coping was more beneficial for men than for women. Implications of these results and their significance within the framework of national and sector cultures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the correlates of psychological aggression among a community sample of couples.

In this study, the authors examined the correlates of psychological aggression victimization and perpetration among a community sample of 145 heterosexual couples. For both women and men, psychological aggression victimization was associated with greater psychological distress, anxiety, and physical health symptoms beyond the effects of physical aggression. Psychological aggression victimization was also uniquely associated with higher levels of depression for women. Trait anger and poor relationship adjustment were the strongest correlates of psychological aggression perpetration across genders. Childhood father-to-child and father-to-mother aggressions were associated with psychological aggression perpetration for men only, suggesting possible distinct etiologies across genders. These data highlight the importance of the further development of models for psychological aggression in both women and men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of expressed and received violence across relationship types among men and women substance abusers.

This study examined expressed and received violence among men and women in substance abuse treatment. Rates of past-year partner violence (PV) did not differ by gender, although men reported markedly higher rates of nonpartner violence (NPV). Compared with PV, NPV was associated with more demographic and background factors (e.g., childhood aggression and conduct problems, family history of violence). The most consistent correlates of violence across relationship types were age, minority status, drug-related consequences, psychiatric distress, and frequency of childhood aggression. Only a few gender-specific correlated were identified; most notably, witnessing father-to-mother violence was related to received PV only for women. Identification of correlates of expressed and received violence in partner and nonpartner relationships is essential for the assessment and treatment of individuals in substance abuse treatment settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression.

Used a stress and coping paradigm to guide the development of indices of coping responses and to explore the roles of stress, social resources, and coping among 424 men and women (mean age 40.7 yrs) entering treatment for depression. An expanded concept of multiple domains of life stress was used to develop several indices of ongoing life strains. A variety of measures were obtained from Ss, family members, and treatment staff. Two questionnaires completed by Ss included the Health and Daily Living Form and the Work Environment Scale. Although most prior studies have focused on acute life events, results of the present study show that chronic strains were somewhat more strongly and consistently related to the severity of dysfunction. The coping indices generally showed acceptable conceptual and psychometric characteristics and only moderate relationships to Ss' sociodemographic characteristics or to the severity of the stressful event for which coping was sampled. Coping responses directed toward problem solving and affective regulation were associated with less severe dysfunction, whereas emotional-discharge responses, more frequently used by women, were linked to greater dysfunction. Stressors, social resources, and coping were additively predictive of an S's functioning, but coping and social resources did not have stress-attenuation or buffering effects. (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of coping in the relationship between perceived racism and racism-related stress for Asian Americans: Gender differences.

On the basis of stress and coping theory, the authors examined coping as a mediator of the relationship between perceptions of racism and racism-related stress with a sample of Asian American college students (N = 336). Results indicated that coping mediated the relationship between racism and racism-related stress differentially by gender. The more that men perceived racism, the more likely they were to use support-seeking coping strategies that were associated with higher levels of racism-related stress. The more that women perceived racism, the more they used active coping strategies that were associated with higher levels of racism-related stress. The findings demonstrate how coping with racism differs for Asian Americans on the basis of gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy in female inmates: The SCID-II Personality Questionnaire and the PCL-R.

The authors examined the relationship between personality disorders, as measured by a self-report screening instrument, and psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991) in female inmates. Participants included 136 women from a maximum security state prison. There was a positive relationship between the Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) scale, which measures conduct disorder before age 15, and the Factor 2 scale of the PCL-R; no other significant relationships with other personality scales were obtained, and there were no evident relationships between any of the personality scales and the Factor 1 scale of the PCL-R. A discriminant function analysis and follow-up receiver operating characteristics analysis indicated that the use of a criterion of 3 endorsed conduct disorder items from the 15-item APD scale was sufficient to correctly identify 71.9% of the women who had been identified as meeting the criterion for psychopathy using the PCL-R interview. However, the scale evidenced poor prediction of nonpsychopaths (specificity = 52.8%). Results indicate the value of using the self-report of conduct disorder items as part of a screening procedure in concert with other measures to select inmates who require further assessment of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)